Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

Learn more about previous EPP fellows by clicking on one of the countries below.

January-July, 2014PhD student at Hafen City University-Hamburg / Eawag-Switzerland

During the last six months and under EPP programme, I was working on my PhD proposal that is “Sustainable and Integrated Sanitation Management in Developing Countries: The Case of Kabul’s Informal Settlements.” Meanwhile I finished my PhD application & enrollment process at my university, and started the first semester of education.

Due to ad hoc and fragmented water supply and sanitation projects in Kabul city, and attention of Afghan Government to deal with it, this is the right time to focus on sustainability and integration of sanitation planning in Kabul.

At the end I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Christoph Lüthi, for his support, Continuous guidance and encouragement.

I would also like to extend my appreciation to all Sandec members because of their warm welcome, continuous support and friendly atmosphere, and EPP committee members for providing this opportunity to increase my knowledge.

Norma Fernanda Charqueño Celis
March – May 2022
PhD student at CENAC, PNNH, CONICET/ Comahue´s University, Argentina

The main goal of my fellowship at Eawag was about a project called: “Effect of the actual warming climate trend on a shallow lake of southern Patagonia during the last ~400 yrs, with a multiproxy reconstruction”, which is part of my PhD thesis. During my stay with the Sedi-team I received an amazing training in lab work to do geochemical analyses on sediments. In three months, I was able to collect grain-size, TN/TC/TOC/TIC, biogenic Silica, C/N isotopes, biomarkers and radiocarbon data. All these results will help me to improve the reconstruction of my sediment cores and compare them to biological proxies.

But the most important part was, that I could gain experience with the analyses and discuss the results with the students of the Sedi-team. Also, this experience gave me the chance of having discussions about common problems in a PhD, e.g., issues regarding data processing in R or difficulties in writing a research article or thesis. Now I am looking forward to combining all these skills and realize a manuscript in the next months.

Additionally, I had the full support of my supervisor Nathalie Dubois, to develop a virtual conference for early career researchers called “Pre-IALIPA”, which was celebrated on April, 26-29, 2022 with almost 50 participants from all over the world. She not only gave me all the technical support to make this conference possible, but she also guided and supported me during this hard process.

Finally, even when the main goal of my fellowship was scientific, the best thing that happened to me here, was the opportunity to meet, work, and enjoy time with amazing persons who have helped me every day even with the tiniest things. All the members of the Sedi team have made me feel at home ever since day one, and they have made sure that my stay was wonderful each second, and so it was; from the lab work to the amazing trips, dinners, talks and laughs, that we shared each day of my stay. These three months were incredible because they let me grow as a scientist, but also as a person who has learnt the importance to never stop and continue learning about all the different things that this world gives to us.

MSc student Kh. Shafiur Rahaman
January - June, 2020

During my EPP Fellowship at the ESS/Sandec department of Eawag, I worked on a research project entitled as, ‘Psychosocial determinants of drinking chlorinated water to design behavior change interventions in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh’ under the supervision of Professor Dr. Hans-Joachim Mosler. This project was carried out in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh using the RANAS behavior change approach. At Eawag, I analyzed the data which has been collected previously and wrote a scientific manuscript. I learnt the advanced data analysis techniques and the ways of writing a research article according the standard of international peer-reviewed journals. With quick and continuous support from my supervisor, I was able to finish my 1st article within first 2 months and submitted it to a high rank journal. Then I started working on another similar project on Handwashing following a consultation with my supervisor. I gained a thorough understanding of the RANAS model, data analysis and interpretation, and preparing a scientific manuscript for publication. I am really grateful to my supervisor Professor Mosler for his guidance in each steps of my work. I would like to thank Dr. Miriam Harter, who helped me a lot in data analysis and for providing necessary learning materials. I would also thank Dr. Christoph Luthi, the department head of Sandec helped me to manage the funding for publication. In a nutshell, Eawag has provided me the scientific environment to focus all my resources towards research.

MSc student Jannatul Ferdous
September-December, 2011

Under my EPP fellowship at Eawag, I was able to work on my MS thesis titled “Regional aquifer mapping for assessing risk of Arsenic transport of Dhaka City shallow groundwater”. During my study, I used the statistical logistic regression model for assessing the probabilities of transporting arsenic in Dhaka City groundwater. Applying the modeling system is the first time for Bangladesh where I tried to introduce a new problem of Dhaka City. Thanks to this model I obtained excellent results. For this study, I would like to thank Dr. Manouchehr Amini for his consistent guidance on modeling and for giving me the knowledge to understand the system. And I would also like to thank Dr. Micheal Berg and Dr. Rick Johnston for their help in the interpretation of the model results.

Beside my research work, I would also like to share my life experience in Switzerland: it was the first time I went far away from my family and my country. Before coming here, I didn’t cook and was depending on my family. But now I’m a self-dependent person and I can do almost everything on my own. For such an experience I am grateful to Eawag! I also feel proud to be a part of Sandec. I found all of my colleagues of the department so friendly, kind and helpful. I’ll always miss the coffee break here with all of my colleagues. They could make me feel a new family here. Finally, I would like to express my immense gratitude to EPP and Eawag for giving me such an opportunity to work with senior scientists and to complete my thesis work successfully.

Mohammad Mojahidul Hossain
June – August, 2010 Bangladesh project, Siam, Eawag

During my fellowship at Eawag I was working on and learning about different methods and techniques for analyzing data and interpreting the results in a comprehensive and structured manner. I learned how to write scientific articles as well as the preparation for the next phase of the ongoing arsenic related project in Bangladesh. Now I am motivated and confident myself to serve my duties with more competence in the future. I would also like to share some things of my personal life too: before I came to Switzerland I didn’t know how to cook, wash and clean, but now I am doing everything myself. Moreover, I am glad to have been able to design frameworks for the following research articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals:

People’s preferences and use of seven arsenic-safe drinking water options in Bangladesh (Inauen, Hossain, & Mosler)
Differences between stakeholders and peoples’ preferences regarding arsenic-safe water options in Bangladesh (Hossain & Inauen)
Perceived tastes of tubewell water and its relationship to water quality parameters (Hug, Hossain & Inauen)

Finally, I am grateful to EPP and Eawag for giving the bright opportunity and also all of my colleagues. My special thanks go to my best supervisor so far, Prof. Hans-Joachim Mosler and Jennifer Inauen for their constant guidance, assistance, stimulating discussions, advice and kind supports throughout my stay in Switzerland as well as Stephan Hug too. They helped me to have motivation in work during my stay here and of course in the future too.

Ana Clara de Sousa Matos
April - July 2023
Msc student at Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

During my EPP fellowship at Eawag, I worked on the development of a hydrological model for a catchment that is used for water supply in the third biggest urban agglomeration in Brazil. Under the supervision of Dr. Fabrizio Fenicia, from the Systems Analysis, Integrated Assessment and Modelling (SIAM), I could better understand the dynamics and hydrological processes in this catchment and how they could be translated into the model. These outputs will be very helpful for the next step of my research, which aim is to optimize the reservoir located at this catchment’s outlet reducing the risk of water shortage, as part of my PhD proposal.

Besides the project that was carried out, I attended the Summer School in Environmental Systems Analysis, where I could improve my uncertainty analysis and modeling skills, in the beautiful location of Kastanienbaum, near Luzern. Also, I had the opportunity to participate in the 28th IUGG General Assembly in Berlin, where the new IAHS Scientific decade, which sets the research agenda worldwide, was launched.

In short, in these few months at Eawag, I could learn and grow in many ways, in a multicultural and very welcoming institute, where I met amazing people and built great friendships. I am grateful to the EPP Committee for this incredible opportunity. I also would like to thank Dr. Fenicia, who was a supportive and attentive supervisor, and the Hydrological Modeling group and SIAM, for the friendly work environment and all the contributions to my research.”

Emma Davies
September – December 2022
MSc Student at Stellenbosch University of South Africa

During my EPP Fellowship at the UChem department in Eawag, I worked on my Masters research project titled, ‘Developing field and laboratory methods for passive samplers in order to measure aquatic pesticide pollution in the Western Cape, South Africa.’

The main focus of my stay was to extract and analyze passive samplers and to build knowledge on analytical chemistry. Over my fellowship, I was able to measure pesticides in my samples using LC-MS/MS and build lab and analytical chemistry skills. I also gained perspective on what it’s like to work in a research-based environment. These outcomes provided me with the tools and results to start writing my MSc thesis and a manuscript for an academic journal.

Eawag is an incredible working environment, with a wide range of well-developed expertise and many opportunities to network through seminars and events. I enjoyed meeting new people, building new friendships and experiencing living in a different country, especially one with such beautiful landscapes.

Thank you to the EPP fellowship for providing such a well-rounded, once in lifetime experience and to Caterina Dalla Torres for her administrative support. Thank you to Dr. Christian Stamm, Baptiste Clerc and Andreas Maccagnan for the academic support. Lastly, thank you to the UChem department for hosting me - the work environment was friendly, welcoming and incredibly supportive. After my experience at Eawag, I feel confident in tackling my future career in the Environmental Science field.

Mariana de Almeida Torres
January - July 2021
PhD student at University of São Paulo, Brazil

During my EPP fellowship at Eawag, and as part of my PhD thesis, I studied the toxicological potential of natural compounds produced by cyanobacteria in freshwater environments. In collaboration with Dr Elisabeth Janssen, Dr Martin Jones, and Dr Colette vom Berg, I learned and developed skills for the risk assessment of such compounds, especially concerning the effects in the aquatic biota. Working on this project has helped me develop and understand more about identifying and quantifying these toxins in water and the toxicity assessment using zebrafish as a model organism. As a key outcome of my fellowship, I am currently analysing the results and writing a collaborative research article on the topic.

Eawag offers an international, multicultural, and friendly work environment. Beyond that, I could enjoy the beautiful Swiss landscapes and meet people from different countries. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the EPP committee, Dr Christoph Lüthi, Dr Elisabeth Janssen, Dr Martin Jones, Dr Colette vom Berg, Caterina Dalla Torre, and Aduccia Sciacovelli for all the support and for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Juliano Rezende Mudadu Silva
March - June 2021
MSC student at Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil

During my EPP at Sandec - Eawag, I worked on my MSc thesis “Greywater reuse as a sustainable practice for the recovery of resources in agriculture – an ecological sanitation perspective”, under the supervision of Dr. Christoph Lüthi. I dedicated my time to discuss the results of my research and improving my scientific writing. Thanks to the support and guidance of Sandec researchers, I had the opportunity to write and submit my first scientific article, “Design model of banana tree circle as a nature-based solution for sustainable greywater management”. I also attended a lecture “Water Supply, Sanitation and Waste Infrastructure and Services in Developing Countries” at ETH. I participate in the seminars, discussions, and retreat organized by the department. I also had the opportunity to present and discuss a seminar about natural-based sanitation solutions for rural communities. Beyond the professional experience, Eawag offers a multicultural environment where it is possible to meet people from different places in the world. I also enjoyed the weekends to experience the natural and cultural beauties of Switzerland.

Eawag, especially Sandec, offers an excellent environment to connect to the most important institutions in the field of water and sanitation for development. I am very grateful to the EPP committee and Dr. Christoph Lüthi, for the opportunity to be part of this renowned group of researchers in the field of sanitation. This experience will certainly contribute to a fruitful carrier as an environmental engineer in Brazil.

Paula Cunha David
June - September 2019
MSC student at Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil

During my EPP fellowship at Eawag, I worked on my MSc thesis, entitled “Understanding the correspondence between model structures and hydrological signatures: a large-sample case study using Brazilian catchments” under the supervision of Dr. Fabrizio Fenicia of the Systems Analysis & Modelling Department. With his mentoring, I was able to polish and improve my research. Now I can apply what I’ve learned to finish my Masters thesis back in Brazil and publish the results in a scientific journal. I believe my results can help improve the knowledge and management of water resources in Brazil.I also attended the Summer School in Environmental Systems Analysis and learned more about statistical methods and the use of the software R, which are very important for my research topic. I joined the discussions organized by the department and gave a seminar, which were good opportunities to exchange ideas. I improved different skills such as communication, coding and how to conduct research.The experience of living in Switzerland was also very enriching. The country’s natural landscapes are beautiful and to live close to Zürich was great. I would like to thank the EPP committee and Dr. Fabrizio Fenicia for the opportunity and support.

Daniel da Silva Farias
September - February 2015
MSC student at Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

During my EPP fellowship stay at Eawag Kastanienbaum, I collaborated with Dr. Blake Matthews´ research group working in a large-scale experiment, performed in 2012, testing how fish predation and resources interactively affects freshwater community structure. My focus was on the zooplankton community and during my stay, I learned a new methodology for plankton analyses and how to use the software R to perform statistical analyses on the dataset. The results of this experiment will be written up into a manuscript and submitted to an international peer reviewed journal. I had the opportunity to conduct a workshop on Freshwater zooplankton analyses and attended seminars in KB and DD, which were great to enhance my academic experience on limnology. Now I will apply all the knowledge I acquired at Eawag in my research project in Brazil and use this knowledge to finish my Master thesis and publish the results in the future.

My stay was very inspiring and I would like to acknowledge the EPP committee and my supervisor, Dr. Blake Matthews, for all the support and opportunity.

Yiougo Sompogda Adissa Lydie
July - October, 2009
PhD student, 2iE Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

I was awarded an EPP fellowship in the summer of 2009. My ongoing PhD research is about sanitation planning with a focus on the Household-Centred Environmental Sanitation (HCES) approach currently being implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa. During my stay, I worked on data analysis and interpretation, literature review and writing papers for publication. The two papers I was able to produce during my stay at Eawag are:

(i) Application of the Material Flux Analysis Approach (MFA) method as a tool for the evaluation of an existing Strategic Sanitation Plan for a secondary city in Sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Fada N’Gourma - Burkina Faso (ready to be submitted)

(ii) Application of Household-Centred Environmental Sanitation (HCES) for sanitation services improvement in Pouytenga - Burkina Faso (submitted to EPFL-UNESCO International Scientific conference on Technologies for Development). I will be presenting this paper at the EPFL Conference in February 2010.

My stay at Eawag has been very helpful for my PhD research. I really appreciated the opportunity to have access to the many scientific papers and to work with the knowledgeable and easy going people at Eawag.

Tata Cathryn Ntoboh
June - September 2021
PhD student at University of Yaounde I, Cameroon

The main objective of my fellowship in Eawag was to carry out analysis on stream sediments in Douala (Economic capital of Cameroon) to assess its concentration of Heavy metals in the stream sediments of Douala river. This was a very great experience for me because I was exposed to many different aspects of the work of a sedimentologist and I was able to learn and discover new skills and methods. During may stay here I was able to carry out different analysis in the lab such as:

Grain size analysis (using the sieve tower)
Grain size analysis by laser difractometry
ICP-MS with aqua regia
TOC, Nitrogen and Carbon Ratio

I conducted interesting activities during my stay here at Eawag: I worked closely with the sedi team where I learned and discovered new techniques, not only in the laboratory. I went on fieldwork with some members of the team, were we collected sediments traps. I also learned how to prepare sediment cores for the XRF core scanner.

Beside my laboratory work, I had a life time experience in Switzerland: it was my first time traveling out of my country and I want to thank Eawag for giving such an interesting life opportunity. With all I have learned here I know I am a better version of myself and I see life differently. I m grateful to the Sedi team who made my stay here very comfortable and everyone was willing to teach me one thing or the other. I am looking forward to use the data I got from my analysis to write an article with the help of my supervisor Nathalie Dubois. I would like to express my gratitude first to Eawag for giving such a life changing opportunity, and giving me an opportunity to expand my scope of friendship and see the world differently.

Ebenezer Soh Kengné (Kamerun)

The aim of my fellowship from March to June at Eawag-Sandec was to analyze the data of my thesis and write two papers and make some progress on my thesis. The abundant literature available at Sandec and Eawag libraries was very helpful in achieving this aim. I also benefited from a good coaching from Linda Strande on writing my papers. I learned the use of Sigma Plot and how to produce graphs and some statistical works with this software. Participating at the Sandec retreat and Sandec meetings gave me a great experience on how to manage a team and projects. I end this stay with two papers ready for submission in peer-reviewed journals:

Performance of Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands for Faecal Sludge Drying Bed Leachate; Effect of Hydraulic Loading. Ebenezer Soh Kengnea,1, Ives Magloire Kengnea, Letah Nzouebet Wilfried Arsennea, Amougou Akoaa, Hung Nguyeng –Viet b,c& Linda Strandec (Submitted to Journal of Ecological Engineering);
Effect of feeding frequency on the performance of Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland treating faecal sludge leachate treatment under high hydraulic load. Ebenezer Soh Kengnea,1, Ives Magloire Kengne a, Amougou Akoaa, & Linda Strandeb (Submitted to the Journal of Water Science and Technology).

I acknowledge the EPP committee for this opportunity given to enhance my skill and knowledge, Linda Strande for her many contributions for my thesis, Christoph for the revision of my manuscripts, Chris for his advice and Caterina for organizing my stay. A good thanks also for all the Sandec team for the friendship ambiance and my integration.

Tao Zhang
July - October, 2008
PhD student at Nankai University, China
During my stay at Eawag I did research on the development of a chemical analytical method for the detection of precursors of the perfluorinated compounds Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in sludge and wastewater with LC-MS/MS. The aim of the work was to establish stable instrument parameters allowing reproducible measurements. Parameter setting has been finished for the following compounds: Perfluorooctanesulfonamide (FOSA), N-methyl per-fluorooctane- sulfonamide (N-MeFOSA), N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamide (N-EtFOSA), N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (N-MeFOSAA), N-ethyl perfluorooctane- sulfonamidoacetic acid (N-EtFOSAA), 8:2 Fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylic acid (8:2 FTUCA) and 6:2 Fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylic acid (6:2 FTUCA). Detection limits of the instrument are around 1-4 pg.

Moreover, I started an experiment on sludge sample extraction and cleanup. During my experiments, I also encountered some problems, e.g. low sensitivity on N-methyl perfluorooctane-sulfonamido ethanol (N-MeFOSE) and N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamido ethanol (N-EtFOSE) with LC-MS/MS, and lab contamination on Perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs). These issues need to be solved in the future.

Fabrice Muvundja Amisi
July - October, 2008
MSc student at Makerere University, Zoology Department/Fisheries, Uganda

The aim of my fellowship at Kastanienbaum was to get first-hand training on how to write a scientific paper by using the data collected under our project: “the nutrient cycling and methane production in Lake Kivu”. During my stay at Eawag I was able to produce a paper under the supervision of Prof. Wüest and in close collaboration with many other team members. It is now ready to be submitted to an international journal for publication under the title: “Balancing Nutrient Inputs to Lake Kivu”.

I practised how to structure the literature review, to describe the methods and materials, present and discuss the results in a comprehensive and structured manner. Several commentaries during seminars also helped me to improve the discussion of the results.

This training has helped me for my future work to enhance my performance in my scientific career. No major problem was encountered throughout the work period.

Susana Méndez Alfaro
February to May 2017
Msc student at National University of Costa Rica, Uchem, Eawag

During my EPP fellowship at Eawag, from February to May 2017, I collaborated with the project “Pesticides Analysis in Tapezco Catchment in Zarcero, Costa Rica” in collaboration with Fredrik Weiss’ PhD at the Environmental Chemistry department. During my stay, I received training and practice in the extraction and analysis of pesticides in passive samples from SDB disks, PDMS sheets and WLP water samples. The samples were taken, in a previous collaboration of me with the project, during the sampling campaign in 2016. Moreover, I used SDB-disk extracts for 3 different eco-toxicological tests: 1. the Combined Algae Test, 2. the Yeast Estrogenic Screen Test (hERα), 3. the Bacterial Bioluminescence Inhibition Test. Additionally, I used pesticide data from 2015 from Zarcero, Costa Rica, to conduct a mixed toxicity tests with the support of the Environmental Toxicology Department.

As final results, we elaborated a standard operational procedure for the sampling and extraction of pesticides in SDB disks and for the sampling and extraction of pyrethroids and organophosphates in PDMS passive samples, with their respective short guides for use in the laboratory. Additionally, we prepared a report with the ecotoxicological data from the analysis. These documents could be used as guidelines for future research projects in Costa Rica and for other Eawag collaborators as well.

My personal experience at Eawag was very gratifying, both personal and professional. I thank the EPP committee for the opportunity and for all the help and kindness given before, during and after my stay.

COULIBALY Phaniwa Zie Zoumana
PhD student, Félix Houphouët Boigny University
June – September 2022

I am very grateful to have been an EPP fellow at Eawag/Sandec, where I worked on my research in sanitation planning management with a focus on faecal sludge. While here, I registered at the Eawag library for two English courses, one was self-taught and the other one was an online class. I also wrote the first article of my PhD thesis with advice from Dr. Christoph Lüthi, Dongo (my Supervisor) and Dr. Sital Uprety, as well as language editing from Paul Donahue. The paper has been submitted to Plos Water. Writing this article permitted me to improve my knowledge of scientific writing and managing scientific information. And my participation in conferences, seminars and the Sandec retreat has improved my presentation skills. The EPP Programme allowed me to meet people from around the world in the field of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). I would like to thank Christoph, Caterina Dalla Torre and all the people at Sandec for their support and companionship during my stay in Switzerland.

Name : M. BAI SERGE
Institution : Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire (CSRS)
University : University of Félix Houphouët Boigny, Ivory Coast
Period : December 7th, 2020 – March 31st, 2021

This EPP Fellowships 2020, was conducted at Sandec/Eawag, in Switzerland, with the topic : « Assessing risks related to flooding using openlisem modeling approach in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire » under the supervision of Dr.Christoph Luthi, and with the assistance of Dr. Joao Paulo Leitao.

My stay at Sandec/EAWAG, was very fruitful and scientifically productive, because I was working on a relevant topic linking water, sanitation, waste management flooding, and impacts on populations in the context of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. We applied the OpenLisem mapping software with the collaboration of the University of Twente in Netherland.

During my stay, I collaborated with researchers from different departments at Eawag, to study and validate the OpenLisem model. During this stay, I received practical knowledge on mapping softwares, mainly QGIS, OpenLisem analysis and the interpretation of maps. We highlighted main habitats, land use and at-risk areas contributing to increased flooding in the study area in Cocody and Abobo.

As a key output of my fellowship, I am currently writing a collaborative research article on the topic with my results analysed at Eawag. My thanks to the EPP Fellowship Team, for this great opportunity I received, with the support of Eawag-Sandec.

Alazar Negash Horecha
PhD Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

During my stay with Eawag, I investigated potential ingestion pathways of fecal pathogens for young children which is part of my PhD work. I worked on implementation challenges and cultural norms ensuring the relevance and effectiveness of different proposed transformative WASH interventions. My EPP fellowship provided me with the necessary technical and lab-related skills to acquire an In-depth understanding of fecal pathogens transmissions and its impact on young children, practical experience in developing interventions, opportunities to network with experts in the field of WASH, and valuable insights into the challenges and complexities of transformative WASH interventions.

During my time at Eawag, I learned a great deal and formed wonderful friendships. I am grateful to the EPP Committee for this opportunity. I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Tim Julian, and to all the members of the UMIK department for hosting me.

Tizazu Yitayew Mengie
PhD student, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

During my EPP fellowship stay at EAWAG, I was able to work closely with my supervisors on my PhD project with the title “Developing conservation genomics resources for the endangered Labeobarbus adaptive radiation in Lake Tana, Ethiopia.”

At EAWAG, I conducted morphological analysis of Lake Tana Labeobarbus spp., DNA extraction from 23 species for whole genome re-sequencing, DNA sequencing, and first draft genome assembly of Labeobarbus spp. in collaboration with scientists. Moreover, I presented a poster at the IEE symposium 2024 and the KB poster event 2024 on the title "origins and processes in a hexaploid fish adaptive radiation." Meanwhile, I took a bioinformatics training on Linux, genome assembly, annotation, and phylogenomics. I started working on a manuscript focused on the draft genome assembly of Labeobarbus spp.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Ole Seehausen and Dr. Pooja Singh, for their unwavering support and guidance throughout my time here. I am also very appreciative of Mrs. Salome Mwaiko, Dr. Haesler Marcel, and Mr. Andreas Taverna for their invaluable assistance with my laboratory and aquarium activities. I am fortunate to be part of Prof. Ole’s research group, where every member is both friendly and incredibly supportive. Finally, I am grateful for the working environment at KB, which has been exceptional in terms of hospitality, support, and enriching interactions with everyone.

Meseret Dessalegne Zerefa
January 12-July 11, 2015
PhD student, Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

During my EPP fellowship stay at Eawag; I was able to conduct the following experiments,

physical and chemical characterization of aluminum-amended zeolites;
Preparation of Mg: Al layered double hydroxides (LDH, with and without carbonate);
Preparation of aluminum-amended pillared clays;
Physical and chemical characterization of these materials;
Batch experiments under different experimental conditions to test the fluoride removal of LDH to understand the removal mechanism;
Continuous mini column experiments with LDH to test the practical use of these materials under different field conditions.

I am also preparing two articles in which one is entirely based on the experiments carried out here and the other one based on the characterization results from here and other experiments performed at Addis Ababa University.

I am very grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Annette Johnson for her invaluable guidance and support on my research and being a role model for my future carrier, the EPP Fellowship organizing committee for providing me the opportunity to work at Eawag, Prof. Gerhard Furrer (from ETH) for providing me with clay samples and his valuable comments and Numa Pfenninger for his unlimited support in the laboratory. I am also thankful for the staff and experts of (W+T) department for their cooperation and support and the opportunity to use their facilities during my research. Finally, I would like to acknowledge Anja Bretzler, Caroline de Meyer and Caterina Dalla Torre for their warm welcome and companionship during my pleasant stay in Switzerland.

Demeke Achiso Hirgeto
Solomon Tarfasa, Eawag Environmental Social Sciences, Dr. Roy Brouwer

During my stay at EAWAG, I worked on data analysis and interpretation, as well as writing my PhD thesis. In addition, I learned how to use econometric software, such as NLOGIT Version 4.0, to analyse cross-sectional and panel data from household surveys under the supervision of my advisor Professor Dr. Roy Brouwer. This enabled me to properly use the statistical software required to analyse and produce the standard empirical results necessary for my PhD thesis and for an article that would be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The article which I wrote as part of my PhD thesis is titled: “Investigating investment constraints in water harvesting technology by farmers in Ethiopia”.

I am grateful to EAWAG for its financial and material support, and for providing me with the opportunity to get proper research supervision and experience.

Demeke Achiso Hirgeto
January – March, 2012
PhD student, School of Political Science, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

During my stay at Eawag under the EPP programme, I carried out the finalization of the two scientific papers entitled "Institutional and Stakeholders Analysis of Defluoridation Options in the Rural Rift Valley of Ethiopia" and "Drivers of Clean Water Supply in the Rural Rift Valley of Ethiopia." The study involved making extensive use of existing recent institutional literature. I really appreciated a lot in the way Eawag is organized and the level of coordination and communication which contributed a lot to get things done. Both papers will hopefully be duly published in international journals and will also constitute chapters in my PhD dissertation.

I would like to thank my supervisors: Prof Hong Yang and Dr. Yacob Arsano for thier constractive guidance and comments. I am really humbled by the EPP committee to be chosen for the programme and your good job will remain in my memory! Very special thanks also goes to Dr. Annette, Lars, Caterina, Karin and Franz who supported me multi-dimensionally. Finally, it is my honor to acknowledge the SIAM staff who remained my close friends during my stay. Thank you all and keep this exemplary and praiseworthy performance forever.

Damte Eyobel
January 1 - April 30, 2012
January - April , 2010
Ph.D student, Analytical Chemistry, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

During my stay at Eawag, I was able to work on my PhD research proposal entitled “Development of Household Defluoridation Technology for Drinking Water in Rural Ethiopia’’

During this time, I have been doing physical and chemical characterization of solid filter materials (aluminium hydroxide), which is used for removing fluoride from drinking water. I determined the elemental composition by digestion and anlaysis and by themogravimetric analysis, the surface area and density and the mineralogy, using X-ray diffraction. I also carried out column experiments. By using the state-of-the-art facilities at Eawag and I have obtained knowledge on how to understand the chemistry of sorption processes taking place at the surface of the solid and how the material needs to be pre-treated to make the technology suitable for field application.

I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Annette Johnson, for her dedicated assistance, consistent guidance, invaluable comments, and suggestion. I also appreciate the staff and experts at (W+T) and Sandec-Eawag, who supported and allow me, to use the facilities through my research work. Thanks to Eawag for offering me fabulous working conditions.

Abdulai Baba Seidu, Ghana
University for Development Studies, Ghana
July - October 2017

During my EPP stay at Eawag I worked on the topic “Understanding the decision making process leading to latrine construction of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) participants in northern Ghana’’. During my stay, I gained knowledge in using the grounded theory method for the analysis of scientific data. Part of the research report has been completed and the other part will be concluded in Ghana. My stay at Eawag has helped sharpen my scientific writing skills. The EPP program created a platform for me to meet so many people across the globe which has enhanced my international network. Also, my participation in conferences and seminars has improved my presentation skills.

I am grateful to the Environmental Social Science department and the Environmental and Health Psychology group for their invaluable support before and during my stay at Eawag. Their contribution during the application process, preparation of the guideline and support during the field interviews is very much appreciated.

Noah Adamtey
May - August, 2008
PhD student, Environmental Science, University of Ghana

During my fellowship l was working on data analysis and interpretation as well as writing of papers for my PhD thesis. Besides I learned how to use different types of software such as GENSTAT, SPSS, Zigma Plot, Endnote, Scopus and PowerPoint. This enabled me to efficiently use statistical software for my data analysis and to prepare papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

The three following manuscripts were produced during my stay at Eawag:

Production of N-enriched municipal waste co-compost for peri-urban agriculture
Use of enriched co-compost under irrigated urban agriculture: effects on water use efficiency, transpiration efficiency, nutrient uptake and maize yield
Evaluation of different rates of co-compost fertilizer mixture on maize growth, yield, nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency.

The first manuscript is submitted and currently under peer review by Waste Management Journal. Manuscript 2 is being reviewed by my supervisors for onward submission to the Agriculture Water Management Journal. Manuscript 3, is about to be finalised and is going to be submitted to my supervisors in the weeks to come.

In addition to the above activities, educational trips were organised to research institutions in and outside Switzerland where l received useful inputs and suggestions to the development of my thesis. I found my stay in Eawag/Sandec to be timely and very beneficial to me.

Mithun Raj EN
January - March 2024
PhD student at Amrita University, Amritapuri, India

During my tenure as an EPP fellow at ESS, Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, I was engaged in comprehensive quantitative analyses, including Multi level Path Analysis and Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM), to analyze the factors explaining the adoption and regular use of the Jivamritam water purification system in Indian rural communities. This research is focused on understanding the psychological and relevant contextual determinants that contribute to the adoption of community-based water purification technologies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Jivamritam project, with its deployment in 300 diverse Indian communities, presents a unique opportunity to study the psychological determinants of this adoption.

The investigation commenced with Path Analysis to uncover the direct and indirect impacts of various factors on the rate of technology adoption. Subsequently, the application of GLMM allowed for a detailed examination of both fixed effects and random effects, thereby offering deeper insights into the drivers behind the adoption of the Jivamritam system.

The past quarter at Eawag has been an enriching period of learning and discovery. The quantitative methods applied have not only enhanced our understanding of the determinants at play but have also set the stage for targeted interventions aimed at improving water purification technology adoption and usage. The findings from this study are expected to make a significant contribution to the discourse on sustainable water management in rural environments by providing valuable perspectives that could inform future policies and implementation strategies.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. Nadja Contzen and Dr. Josianne Kollmann, for their unwavering support and invaluable guidance, as well as to the stimulating academic atmosphere offered by Eawag/ESS. The journey through this project has been a pivotal phase in my Ph.D. research, broadening my analytical skills and deepening my commitment to contributing to sustainable water resource management in developing contexts.

Sudeshna Kumar
September-December 2021
Ph.D. Student, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India

During my EPP tenure at Sandec, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, I have developed an independent project titled "Climate Resilient Urban Sanitation Assessment Framework (CRUSAF): Hybrid analysis instrumenting geospatial mapping and scoring matrix" under the supervision of Mr. Abishek Sankara Narayan and Dr. Christoph Lüthi.

CRUSAF involves both quantitative and qualitative assessment at two levels. Firstly, conducting a geospatial analysis to assess the vulnerability of the case-specific environment. This part of the analysis will require us to generate vulnerability maps concerning climate-related hazards such as flooding, extreme heat, water scarcity and drought, and sea-level rise. Secondly, instrumentation of a scoring matrix for inspecting the resilience of the sanitation facilities.

The EPP Fellowship program has helped me diversify my research interests and encouraged me to pursue research in urban sanitation considering climate change perspectives. It has provided an immense impetus to my professional growth on an international platform which was crucial for me during the last leg of my Ph.D.

I will be forever grateful to my supervisors, Mr. Abishek Sankara Narayan and Dr. Christoph Lüthi for their continual guidance and undaunted support within and beyond academics during the entire phase of my EPP. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Dorothee Spuhler for her enthusiasm and never-ending inspiration for the betterment of the project. Words are not sufficient by any means to acknowledge my EPP tenure's contribution to my thinking and my perspective towards life. I consider myself fortunate enough to be part of this fellowship program, and all the best to other EPP Fellows who I am sure shall optimize their research potential within a healthy working environment.

June - September 2019
Karthik Sankaranarayan, Ph.D student at University of Madras, India.

The EPP program supported me to work under Prof. Christoph Vorburger, Department Aquatic Ecology, Eawag. For controlling pests in agriculture, the use of insecticides has proven effective. But it has many negative consequences, especially the toxic compounds have a high possibility to discharge into nearby lakes, rivers and even ground water which will be highly detrimental to the affected ecosystems. The use of biocontrol agents (natural enemies of pests such as parasitoid wasps) is a sustainable alternative. However, this approach may be hampered if the pest is protected against natural enemies by bacterial endosymbionts. We tested this with black bean aphids (Aphis fabae), an important pest in Europe and India and one of their defensive endosymbionts, namely Hamiltonella defensa. In our experiment with different strains of this endosymbionts namely H15, H402 and H76, we tested their effect in natural condition around Eawag (6 locations; 13 rounds of replicates). The results showed that H. defensa can indeed reduce parasitism of pest aphids in the field, but the protection differed among strains, and adverse weather (heat, thunderstorms) and predators seemed to have a bigger effect on pest infestations overall than parasitism by wasps.

With the results from the experiments, we are aiming for a publication, shortly. I thank Christoph and his postdoc Nina Hafer-Hahmann, for their valuable guidance. I thank Sandec for having a wonderful program (EPP) and organizing a hike in the Swiss mountains (excursion day). Overall, this program equipped me to work in any international institute. I will always cherish the pleasant memories of Switzerland.

June - September 2018
Pavan Kumar Reddy Indireddy

During my tenure I have studied on "How sanitation byproducts can improve soil quality in India". The study involved understanding current soil organic carbon status in India, properties of Faecal Sludge (FS), organic municipal solid waste, earlier experiments on organic solids to improve soil quality and using them to arrive at reasonable estimates on amount of solids required to improve soil quality. I have used the existing scientific literature as data for my estimations. Easy access to publications through Eawag's library helped in finding potential papers a boon to the study.

My mentor Dr.Linda Strande introduced me to a soil scientist expert who further guided in the subject of solids improving soil quality, bringing in decades of experience. Having expert support helped to arrive at reasonable assumptions and finding key papers to arrive at reliable estimates. Dr. Linda brought her expertise in estimating FS generated from the study area and in other important aspects of research like framing an outline, choosing the right journal for scientific publication.

EPP gave me an opportunity to experience well conducted research and gave an insight to what more data would be needed to make a scientific decision in choosing treatment technology or concept at an implementation level. Overall my stay in Switzerland and intercultural exposure at Sandec led to an all-round development as a sanitation professional. My gratitude to all from Eawag and Sandec for this wonderful experience.

S.Ramesh Sakthivel
April-July , 2010
Ph.D Student, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India

At Eawag, under the EPP programme I carried out a study titled “Dissolution of Magnesium and Struvite Precipitation Kinetics from Stores Urine using Different Magnesium Sources”.

The study involved conducting dissolution and precipitation experiments using stored urine. Various magnesium sources including Bittern and Wood Ash were utilized for the experiments. I was also introduced to the chemical process modeling software Aquasim, software developed by Eawag, for analyzing results of the experimental data. The study outputs will be useful in designing reactors for struvite precipitation from stored urine. The work carried out will be published in an international journal and also will form a major part of my PhD thesis.

I would like to thank my supervisors, Ms.Elizebath Tilley and Dr.Kai Udert for their profound support and guidance. I take this opportunity to thank all the staff at Eawag for extending excellent cooperation to carry out the study and to the members of EPP committee for selecting me for the fellowship

Daniel
October 2014 - March 2015
UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education

“I conducted my thesis research under the EPP programme at Eawag-SANDEC from October 2014 to March 2015. As part of an interdisciplinary research project on safe water in Nepal, I had the chance to coordinate and perform microbial water quality analyses for more than 500 households and its water sources in remote villages of Mid-Western Nepal. The research was conducted in collaboration with HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation and further included household surveys, expert interviews and structured observations.

My research objective was the assessment of microbiological water quality and household water management practices in remote rural areas. The results revealed that most of the households` storage containers were fecally contaminated, with 21% classified as high risk cases. Also, access to safe water sources as defined by the WHO did not guarantee microbially safe water and several piped water schemes showed contamination at the tap level. The testing methodology made use of an adapted membrane filtration kit combined with a custom-made incubator powered by solar cells. It showed good performance and could be applied in similar field studies around the world.

During my research, I received a very nice mentorship from my mentors, Arnt Diener and Sara J. Marks, and also great support from the SANDEC team. I feel that I have improved and learned a lot during my research with SANDEC.”

January - April 2022
PhD student at Isfahan University of Technology, Iran

During my EPP Fellowship at the Aquatic ecology department of EAWAG, benefiting from participating in Eco-seminars, I gained clear insight into critical issues that freshwater ecosystems face and the gaps in the available methods to resolve them. I also worked on my project topic. With the kind support of Dr. Christopher T. Robinson and his group members, I tried to shed light on the effect of flood intensity on the taxonomic and functional diversity of macroinvertebrate communities in understudied Karun river basin streams in Iran. During these four months, I learned how to calculate the return period of extreme flood events, which is essential in predicting floods' effect on biodiversity. Moreover, I used a disturbance-response framework to assess the effect of flood intensity on functional and taxonomic diversity indices of macroinvertebrate communities. These findings are crucial to increasing the knowledge base of conservation and management of ecological resources (e.g., ecosystem services provided by diverse macroinvertebrate communities) and biodiversity in this understudied region and biome. Such knowledge is of paramount importance, given the increasing pressures on river ecosystems and water resources due to human activities and climate change. Specifically, my stay resulted in a dataset on the taxonomic and functional composition of the studied macroinvertebrate communities. Now I am working on a draft of the manuscript on the resilience and recovery of taxonomic and functional macroinvertebrate community composition to extreme floods to publish in a high-ranking international peer-reviewed journal. In addition, I also used this chance to develop my scientific network with world-leading scientists in my research field. I will present my findings at International Mountain Conference (IMC2022) and at the 36th Congress of the International Society for Limnology (SIL2022).

I want to give my healthful gratitude to all aquatic ecology department members for providing such a warm and welcoming environment. Specifically, I appreciate the kind support of PD Dr. Christopher T. Robinson, Gabriele Consoli, and Dr. Pierre Chanut. Finally, I would like to thank all EPP committee members for providing this chance and for their kind and helpful support during the fellowship.

February - May 2019
Negar Tayebzadeh Moghadam, Ph.D Student in environmental planning and management, University of Tehran, Iran.

During my stay at Eawag, under the EPP program I carried out a part of my PhD thesis entitled “Vulnerability Assessment of Hydrological Ecosystem Services in Heterogeneous Catchments”. EPP program provided a unique opportunity for me to train and complete the SWAT and SWAT-CUP models and analyzed data for HESs in my research. The most important activities during my EPP fellow were:

Completion of modeling of Hydrological Ecosystem Services (HESs) by SWAT model
Analyzing impacts of climate change on HESs under different scenarios
Analyzing impacts of land uses on HESs under different scenarios
Vulnerability assessment of HESs under risk of climate and land use changes
Preparing final reports and papers

I would really like to express my deepest appreciation to Prof. Mario Schirmer as my main supervisor for all his irreparable affection, great mentoring and support during my stay at Eawag. I also appreciate Dr. Karim Abbaspour because of his useful guidance on developing model and promoting my thesis. I hope the EPP program continues because it can promote the results of students' research on the field of water, especially in developing countries.

Gordon Ocholla

PhD in Environmental Planning and Management; Kenyatta University

Supervisors: Prof. Bernhard Truffer and Dr. Christoph Lüthi

My fellowship at Eawag presented me with an opportunity to interact with different international researchers that increased my breadth of knowledge on framing of scientific research. Besides, the valuable networks I created, it broadened my academic and professional horizon.

During my stay, I worked on data analysis, results interpretation and literature review for my thesis monograph titled “Impacts of urban sprawl on water and sanitation service provision: An analysis of consumers’ satisfaction in Kisumu, Kenya”. I also developed a manuscript (to be enriched further) for publication, titled “Effects of Delegated and Non-delegated management models of water service provision on consumer satisfaction”.

I am greatly indebted to my supervisors, Prof. Bernhard Truffer and Dr. Christoph Lüthi, for the mentorship and guidance I received at Eawag. I really appreciate the opportunities I had to access many scientific journals, the well-equipped library, trainings on scientific publishing (copyright, literature management and writing with LaTeX) and for being part of multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary scientific community during my time at the institution. Living in Switzerland was wonderful and a transformative experience.

George Kiambuthi Wainaina

MSc Water Policy; Pan African University, Institute of Water and Energy Sciences (PAUWES) May-August, 2018

Supervisors: Dr. Sara Marks, Regula Meierhofer, Dr. James Raude(JKUAT)

During my tenure as an EPP fellow at Eawag, I conducted data analysis and compiled my thesis titled “Comparative analysis of factors affecting consistent use of house hold water treatment and storage”, a study that was done in an emergency context in Laisamis, Northern Kenya.

I gained invaluable understanding of statistical analysis specifically use of ordinary least regression models among other qualitative and quantitative techniques, in understanding and explaining datasets and drawing conclusions. Additionally, I acquired practical research experience and mentorship from renowned experts Dr Sara Marks, Regula Meierhofer and other members in Sandec.

The interdisciplinary and intercultural nature of researchers and employees at Sandec served as a platform to further developed my interpersonal skills consequently growing my professional network. Each day was a learning opportunity through regular seminars, presentations and peer interactions.

This opportunity improved my capacity in handling research and projects specifically in water and sanitation scope.

My gratitude goes to Eawag for this opportunity and Sandec for the warm welcome and facilitation throughout my stay in Switzerland.

Edinah Moraa Samuel, University: Kenyatta University, Kenya

Research Topic: Slum upgrading and its impact on household sanitation practices in Kibera, Nairobi County, Kenya.

During my stay at EAWAG as an EPP fellow, I was able to review the theoretical framework for my study and most importantly learned how theoretical frameworks are applied to research studies. I did my data analysis and processing, and this introduced me to the use of new programmes, such as MAXQDA and Endnote. Finally, I was able to write my MSc thesis, which culminated in a presentation to two Eawag departments: Environmental Social Studies (ESS) and Sandec. Working with ESS and Sandec introduced me to multi-disciplinary approaches and environmental planning and sanitation. The EPP experience has transformed me into an individual who can handle strategic urban sanitation planning and environmental management tasks in the future.

My priceless thanks go to Prof Bernhard Truffer, Dr. Christoph Lüthi, Pauline Cherunya and Mara Van Welie for their support towards my thesis writing. They introduced me to new concepts and ideas, which immensely supported my results and argumentation, and led to a deeper understanding of my research topic.

Joyce Awuor Ouma, July – October 2015, Master student at University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

During my EPP fellowship at Eawag, I pioneered research on concentration of nitrified urine using reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. The objective of this research was to partially remove water from nitrified urine using RO membranes (rather than the energy intense distillation process) and remain with a concentrated nutrient solution. Through this research,I have gained hands-on training in the scientific and operation principles of reverse osmosis membranes. In particular, their properties and performance while treating nitrified urine in terms of flux, permeability, fouling potential and cleaning mechanisms that work best.I also attended several Eawag seminars which were very enlightening and helped me to learn and improve on my presentation skills. Being an EPP fellow has given me an insight to what direction I would like my career in water and sanitation to take.

Eawag-Sandec EPP (July to October 2021)

Initially, I was supposed to come to Eawag in March 2020, but Covid had other plans. However, coming in 2021 was one of the best things that happened during my PhD journey.

I came to Eawag with four months left to finish my PhD, and I was here to write up my thesis. Eawag gave me a conducive environment (office, accommodation, and fast internet) to freely work on my papers and dissertation. As planned I submitted my thesis on time (13/10/2021).

Despite being busy with writing, I interacted with different people from Sandec and other Eawag sections, and we shared ideas and possibilities of working together soon. Sandec is an international place that made me feel at home, and I mingled easily. I also attended several workshops and seminars, which were helpful for my career and future research collaborations.

I have heard of people struggling to settle when they moved to Switzerland, but not at Eawag-Sandec. Sandec is well organised and looks after the people nicely. I will forever be grateful for making my stay in Switzerland memorable.

1st February – 3rd April, 2018

During my work at Eawag, I analysed my formative research data collected through the RANAS based questionnaire. This data is to be published in a peer reviewed journal with the title “Towards complementary food hygiene behaviour change among child caregivers: a formative research in rural Malawi”. I also worked on the article, specifically the methods and results section are now finished. In addition, I attended a number of seminars including an interesting presentation about behaviour change in WASH by Dr. Robert Dreibelbis from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

My stay at Eawag has been very fruitful. I had an opportunity of attending the Sandec retreat which was an eye opener to me on how to organize and facilitate meetings in a different way. The EPP fellowship created an interface that helped me to meet people from different parts of the world; this gave me an opportunity to learn from what others are doing in my field of research, which is making a huge contribution to my current study.

I would like to thank my supervisors Professor Hans Mosler and Jurgita Slekiene who spent their time mentoring me on how to analyse RANAS data using SPSS. They also provided guidance on how to prepare an article based on RANAS data. I am very grateful to all Sandec staff for their warm welcome and support during my stay. I also extend my appreciation to Caterina for making all the arrangements before and during my stay at Eawag.

September-December, 2017 - Sandec

During my EPP fellowship, I worked on the project ‘Environmental sanitation planning in small towns: Luchenza municipality, Malawi’. This project aims to adapt the CLUES approach (www.sandec.ch/clues) to develop an environmental sanitation plan adapted to Malawian small town settings. During the visit, I analysed data from the project and developed recommendations (service options) to take back to Malawi.

Secondly, I had an opportunity to write a policy brief on sanitation planning for small towns.

I also had opportunities to improve my scientific writing skills by attending courses e.g. ‘Writing English for Science’ and ‘the Lib4Ri module series’.

Lastly, I was able to network with sanitation and research experts through meetings and seminars.

I am grateful to the EPP team, Sandec department and Eawag for giving me this unforgettable opportunity. I found the EPP services e.g. travel, finances, accommodation, and supervision comfortable and suitable for my needs. Being my first trip to Europe, I experienced wonderful things such as food, places, events, and festivities. Special thanks to my supervisors Dr. Christoph Lüthi and Dr. Elizabeth Tilley for the guidance and support they rendered to me throughout my work and my stay in Switzerland.

Sambuddha Bajracharya
MSc University of Moratuwa, Nepal

During my stay at Eawag, I further build up on my master's research. My master’s research was about developing a combined drought index, which used a statistical approach to evaluate drought. At Eawag, I developed a distributed hydrological model considering water balance accounting. With my supervisors, I was able to calibrate and validate the model and compare the results to my master’s research. This research enabled discussions on research gaps/refinement and potential further collaboration. Also, I was lucky to get sessions on map making, presentations, coding, and scientific communication from experts and PhD candidates. Additionally, the excursions I had here were very nice.

Lastly, I am grateful to the founding members and organizers of EPP.

June - September 2018
Dikshya Dahal, Kathmandu University, Nepal

I was at Eawag for my Master’s Thesis work entitled “Assessing the health and nutritional status of children in western Nepal prior to hygiene and water quality interventions” under the supervision of Regula Meierhofer. My 4-months stay was very fruitful. I learned to handle large data sets (data from 1’427 households); may it be from cleaning data to prepare final data set or analyzing data with scale, nominal and ordinal variables. I analyzed data using SPSS and I was able to learn about different ways to analyze data; which method is used for what data types and assumptions to check data quality. I also learned how to deal with anthropometric data using WHO Anthroplus and I learned to calculate wealth and hygiene index using the available data sets for analyzing economic and hygienic conditions. Additionally, I learned to write scientific reports. I also got an opportunity to interact with researchers working in different fields.

January-April 2022 - Nida Maqbool
PhD Environmental Engineering; National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan

Supervisors: Dr. Linda Strande, Stanley Sam

Research Topic: Enhancement of biogas recovery from fecal sludge using anaerobic co-digestion

During my stay as an EPP fellow, I investigated anaerobic digestion and biogas production potential of fecal sludge alone and co-digested with other organic waste streams i.e. garden waste, restaurant waste and food waste. I carried out part of my PhD’s fundamental research under the guidance of Dr. Linda Strande and Stanley Sam. I gained experience in planning and execution of the experiments. The most insightful experience was gained from the discussions we did on the obtained results. I was given opportunities like delivering a lecture to ETH, participating in Sandec newsletter and presenting at the monthly meetings. With the experience gained at Eawag, I am more determined to pursue my career in sanitation particularly in developing countries in providing low cost solutions.

I am very thankful to Dr. Linda Strande and Stanley Sam for their thoughtful discussion and ideas during the whole work. Special thanks to Caterina Dalla Torre and Senta Schödler for their kind administrative support. I am also grateful to my labmates BJ Ward, Kelsey Shaw, Michael Vogel, Nienke Andriessen, Helena Verloo and Daniela Peguero for all the support and help.

Thank you Eawag for making my stay in Switzerland memorable and providing me with all the required facilitation.

September - December 2012
PhD student at Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan

I was awarded a four month fellowship by Eawag, under Eawag Partnership Program (EPP) for Developing Countries. During my stay at Eawag from September to December, 2012 I conducted research on “Estimating demand for crop insurance and to measure socio-economic vulnerability to disaster flooding in Pakistan”.

I am grateful to my supervisors, Dr. Peter Riechert and Dr. Roy Brouwer for their profound support and enthusiastic guidance to conduct the research. During this fellowship I learned about various research methodologies regarding survey and data analysis, choice experiment method was one of them. I am also thankful to all the staff at Eawag, particularly Caterina dalla Torre and Karin Ghilardi for extending their excellent cooperation to carry out the study.

Augustin Gafasi February - March 2012 (Rwanda)
National University of Rwanda, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Dept. of Civil Engineering

During my stay at Eawag as an EPP fellow I was able to achieve the following tasks: I finalized my MSc research proposal entitled “The temporal dynamics of subaquatic springs discharge in Lake Kivu” under the supervision of Dr Martin Schmid (SURF). This part was the most important because it is the quality of my proposal which will determine the overall thesis quality. Furthermore, I mastered different measurement techniques:

On ICPE-9000, how to run samples and ICPE-900 software application.
GC ‐ GAS Chromatography used for measuring methane gas concentration in water samples and the software application.

Additionally, I learned how to apply the Scidavis software which is used for CTD data analysis as well as plotting the graph of CTD profiles. I would like to thank the Eawag staff for their close guidance throughout my stay, my special thanks goes to my supervisor Dr Martin Schmid.

Alsane SECK,
15 May – 14 August, 2014
PhD student, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Senegal

During my EPP fellowship stay at Eawag, I have been able to achieve the following outputs:

I finalized and submitted my first article entitled “Resource recovery from faecal sludge: solid fuel production in Sub-Saharan Africa” to Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
I worked on my second peer-reviewed paper entitled “Effect of alternative filter media for sand drying bed to enhance dewatering of faecal sludge”
I finalised my thesis report entitled “Optimization of FS drying and treatment performance in unplanted filter beds for better valorization of biosolides”
I participated at the Tech4Dev conference at Lausanne and the international SPLASH Workshop in Kampala, Uganda

The stay allowed me to be a more performant academic. The support received from the Sandec team and the support services from EPP program allowed me to achieve this objective. Many thanks to all at Sandec, especially to Linda, my main supervisor and his collaborator Moritz for all his support and advice. I think the EPP programme should be continued because it helps many students from developing countries to improve their career.

Amadou Gueye
January-May, 2013
PhD student, University Cheikh A. Diop of Dakar, Senegal

During my EPP fellowship stay at Eawag, I finalized my first peer-reviewed paper entitled “Indigenous plant species for faecal sludge treatment and forage production in planted drying beds: An alternative for sustainable sanitation in developing countries” proposed to be published in the journal Ecological Engineering. I was also able to work on the proposal of the second part of my doctoral thesis entitled “Optimizing the production and processing performance of planted drying beds”. In addition, I took English courses and attended various Eawag seminars.

My stay was very fruitful and will help me to enhance my performance in my career. The achievement of these objectives has been facilitated by the very good support service of EPP and the Sandec department. My thanks go also to my supervisor, Linda Strande, for her enthusiastic and thoughtful help not only at work but also in everyday life. Based on my personal experience, I find that the EPP program is well organized, from the beginning to the end of my stay no major problem has been met. My hope is that this program continues as long as possible, because it gives an opportunity to students of developing countries to perform in their research area.

Jean Birane Gning
September - December, 2009
PhD student, Economics, University of Dakar, Senegal

During my stay at Eawag, I have been able to achieve the following:

I have reframed my research through the additional documentation, which are not available in my university.
I have written my research proposal. This part was the most important because it is the quality of proposal and especially the methodology, which will determine the quality of outcomes.
I have been able to develop the main tools, which I need for this study:

SWPO workshops and Focus group
Survey of garbage collectors, scavengers and private operators
Interviews with stakeholders and resource persons
Household survey

Furthermore, I have also completed a short report on the socio-economic evaluation of electronic waste management in Senegal. In addition, I was able to substantially improve my English through the language course and practice.

Eawag has provided me with excellent working conditions.

Elhadji Mamdou Sonko
January - May, 2009
PhD student, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Senegal

During my fellowship between January to May 2009, I was able to work on my PhD research proposal entitled “Humification performance and Helminth Eggs Inactivation in Faecal Sludge Dewatering Beds”.

My stay at Eawag allowed me to work on my full PhD proposal and research protocol regarding the humification and inactivation of helminth eggs in planted drying beds. I researched the essential process factors including the temperature, pH and humidity levels, climatic factors, excreta quality and plant aeration. I will go back to the Cheikh A. Diop University in Dakar with a fully polished PhD research proposal and will be able to start my field tests soon. Thanks to the inspiring working environment I found at Eawag-Sandec and the support from my mentor Doulaye Koné, I was able to accomplish this in very little time. I cherish the EPP fellowship program and would like to suggest an expansion of this program to allow the fellows to stay up to 6 months at Eawag.

Shenda Daoud
February 1st –May 31 2024
Msc student at Rojava University, Syria

During my EPP fellowship at Eawag, I studied some literature, whether in the field of machine learning or the field of toxicology. I got acquainted with the Adore database. I also studied the current version of the codes that my supervisor Marco Baity Jesi provided me with. I ran the code and reproduced some of the results that were made on live data only. I learned the steps to build a script, how to read data, train-test-split it, train a random forest model on the training set, evaluate the model’s performance, and also represent the results graphically.

I want to give my healthful gratitude to all SIAM department members for providing such a warm and welcoming environment. Specifically, I appreciate the kind support of Marco Baity Jesi. Finally, I would like to thank all EPP committee members for providing this chance and for their kind and helpful support during the fellowship.

Happiness Anold Moshi, EPP fellow: March –June, 2021, Surf Department
PhD student in Aquatic Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Employer: Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute
Research Topic: Feasibility of Citizen Science Water Quality Monitoring in Lake Tanganyika
Supervisors: Professor Bernhard Wehrli and Dr. Benedikt Ehrenfels

During my stay at Eawag as an EPP fellow was great, I worked on data processing, analysis, results interpretation and literature review for my thesis entitled “Feasibility of Citizen Science Water Quality Monitoring in Lake Tanganyika. Through free access to scientific journals, stable internet service and trainings on scientific writing, I was able to revise my manuscript for resubmission in PlosOne Journal entitled “Community Monitoring of Coliform Pollution in Lake Tanganyika”. I also developed a manuscript entitled “Citizen Science Supports Water Quality Monitoring in Lake Tanganyika’ ready for submission in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment peer reviewed journal.

Through this opportunity, I had the exposure to interact with different international researchers that enriched my scientific research career. Working with multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary scientific community during my time at Kastanienbaum was wonderful and give a transformative experience, which will further extend my networks and nourish my professional as a scientific researcher.

I really appreciate the financial allowance, which was amazing and enough to live in Switzerland comfortably. Accommodation was well equipped and fully furnished from kitchen, sitting room, bedroom and bathroom. The working environment was surrounded by smiling faces and well organised. Spending free times in beautiful places such Engelberg, Rosenlaui, Pilatus, Interlaken, Bern, River Aare and Locarno was the most enjoyable moments in Switzerland.

I acknowledge the EPP committee for this golden opportunity given to widen my academic and professional career, Bernhard Wehrli and Benedikt Ehrenfels for their supervision in manuscript writing and R programming for analysis of my data. Many thanks go to the Kastanienbaum reception especially Patricia, Eliane, Nadja and Michelle for their advice and organising my settlement at Eawag. Special thanks to Caterina Dalla Torre for her endless support, advice and organising my trip to Switzerland. I really appreciate friendship and good atmosphere from Aquatic chemistry group and Surf Department. “Eawag is home for Aquatic Researches”.

Smith Leknettip
July - September 2023
PhD student at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

As a PhD student, I currently do a project on a topic related to the paleoenvironmental changes of coastal zone in southern Thailand. I carried out part of my PhD research under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Sakonvan Chawchai and Prof. Nathelie Dubois is the one who guided me during my stay in Eawag as an EPP fellow. I have received training lab works including grain size analysis, TOC, and biomarker investigation. I also have an opportunity to go to ETH Hönggerberg for 14C dating. These are great experiences for me as I have never done these kinds of lab work before. I also gain an experience on the data analysis and interpretation with the sedi-team. Therefore, this improves me a lot in the way of academic research and all of the outcomes will also really improve the quality of my work and also my incoming postdoc work after I finish my PhD.

I really appreciated EPP committee for offering me an amazing opportunity to visit Eawag and Switzerland and widen my academic and PhD life. I really appreciate the financial support which allow me to live in Switzerland easily. The EMPA guesthouse was also amazing as it was fully furnished with vital stuff for daily life. Apart from my daily lab works, I also have a chance to visit several beautiful parts of Switzerland, such as Rigi, Lucerne, Bern, Interlaken, Oschinensee, Jungfraujoch, Zermatt, etc.

Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to the Sedi-team for valuable discussion and ideas, their friendship, and good working atmosphere during these 3 months. I have an enjoyable time with this great people who are so kind and friendly and helped me with everything during my stay. All the members make me feel like home with a warm welcome. These three months flew so fast as I enjoyed every moment here. I hope that I will have a chance to visit Eawag again to improve my academic skills in the future.

Abubakar Batte, January – April 2024
University: Makerere University, Kampala Uganda
Research Topic: Geospatial analysis of interlinkages between water, sanitation and solid waste management in small towns.

During my stay at Sandec/Eawag, I was privileged to be mentored and nurtured holistically both in my academic and professional journeys. In this process, I accomplished several milestones which included but not limited to;

Literature review

Developed geospatial analysis method for integrated planning and management of water, sanitation and solid waste.
First draft of Physical Development Plan for Kakooge Town Council
Participated in seasonal school focusing on Accelerating SDG 6 in Sub Saharan Africa
Attended the 40th Anniversary and 160th AquaSan meeting held at SDC offices in Bern
Attended Several lectures at ETH Zurich, and the list goes on and on.

In reflecting on the knowledge acquired through my research, I have gained a deeper understanding of ArcGIS and QGIS skills, which were fundamental in developing spatial analysis methods for the integrated planning and management of water, sanitation, and solid waste. Throughout my research process, I employed a mixed-methods approach, combining JMP Ladders for water, sanitation, and hygiene with an adopted ladder for solid waste and geospatial analysis techniques like hotspot analysis. This methodology allowed me to triangulate my findings and provide more robust conclusions.

The support services from EPP and my department were outstanding. The accommodation was exceptional, being fully furnished and conveniently located close to Eawag. The Swiss Pass allowed me to explore Zurich thoroughly, not to mention the experience at Uetliberg. The financial support, including the stipend, was timely and adequate, enabling me to focus on my research without financial concerns. The step-by-step mentorship from my supervisor was exceedingly helpful, providing clear guidance and constructive feedback throughout the process.

In terms of improvement, I can't identify any specific areas needing enhancement. The support services met all my needs, and the overall experience was highly positive and enriching.

The fraternal experience at Sandec/Eawag was unmatched! Not only step by step hospitable process of transitioning into the new environment but also constant advice and inputs from experienced resourceful professionals at Eawag. EPP fellowship at Sandec was an amazing experience characterized with an enabling environment to learn both by direct guidance and observation. Special thanks to Sandec family. My categoric gratitude goes to Dr. Christoph

Ronald Sakaya, February – May, 2023

University: Makerere University Kampala, Uganda
Research Topic: Integrated and inclusive approach to the planning of water, sanitation and waste services in small towns

My EPP stay from 1 February to 31 May 2023 has been successfully completed. I was able to develop and present a full research proposal to the Makerere University doctoral committee. I was able to attend to the following specialized trainings; Evaluating the social impact with field experiments (ETH), Searching scientific information, and Scientific publishing - from Writing to Publishing (Eawag). I went to the All Systems Connect IRC Conference in The Hague, Netherlands. In addition, I gave a guest lecture at ETH on sanitation insights in low- and middle-income countries, with a particular focus on Kampala, Uganda and also reviewed Sandec news article 2023 on “State of Affairs of Open Defecation Free (ODF) Status in Southern Nepal”, among others. Besides, I also participated in curricula activities that included, a visit to Lyon in France, Hannover in German, Stockholm/Uppsala in Sweden.

In conclusion, my four months were exciting, educative, and refreshing. I have enhanced my ability to develop and coordinate PhD research activities, and learned working with people in different environments. I thank Dr. Christoph Luthi (PI), Caterina, and the entire team for the support and providing exceptionally wonderful work environment. I am grateful to the Epp program coordination team, and Eawag in general for accepting me on the program.

Christopher Kanyesigye, March – May, 2019

University: Makerere University Kampala, Uganda
Employer: National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda
Research Topic: Improved Understanding of Water Safety Plans Implementation in Small Towns of Uganda through Outcome and Impact Assessment, the case of NWSC Bushenyi Area

While at EAWAG as an EPP student, I was able to accomplish several key outputs. I reviewed and polished my PhD proposal, which I will present before the Doctoral Committee of Makerere University shortly. With support from my supervisors, I have more or less completed a paper for journal publication entitled: “Status of Water Safety Plans development and implementation in Uganda “. I wrote and submitted an article, entitled, “15 years of Water Safety Plans Development and Implementation in Uganda”, for the ththe 2019 Sandec News. I wrote and submitted an abstract for the Water and Health Conference, 2019 (UNC-US) on `Outcome and impact indicators for Water Safety Plans assessment in small towns of Uganda`. Finally, I learnt and applied the relevant basics of statistics and use of SPSS for my data analysis.

May I express my sincere appreciation to the entire Sandec department members for your freedom of knowledge sharing. I particularly thank Dr. Sara Marks, who linked me to Eawag through the “SMALL” project being implemented in Uganda. I say: God Bless You.

Alex Ojuka Jalameso, October – December, 2015

University: Makerere University Kampala, Uganda
Programme: MA Sociology. School of Social Sciences and Humanity
Research Topic: Impact of water supply, sanitation and hygiene interventions in the reduction of diarrhea among children under five years in Wandi Small Town, Arua District.

During my stay at Eawag as an EPP fellow, I have been able to accomplish the following planned tasks successfully;

Literature reviews on my research topic
Data processing and analysis
Thesis writing

Furthermore, I was able to present the field findings to Eawag/Sandec and the comments I received enriched my thesis and helpful to prepare a journal manuscript. I also received training on EndNote Library course. The training was very important because it simplified my literature reviews and organising them including the references. I should appreciate Dr. Stefan (Sandec) who taught me EndNote Library, this made the course manageable due to the prior knowledge I received from him.

Joel Kinobe, March - May 2013

University: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala in collaboration with Makerere University Kampala Uganda.
Research Title: “Optimization of the routing system for the collection and transportation of waste in Kampala city”

During my stay at Eawag I was able to do a literature search and managed to download many scientific papers that I will use while writing my PhD. I was able to address comments of another manuscript titled; “Mapping out the current waste collection system in Kampala City”. The manuscript will be sent to a scientific journal soon. I also received training in GIS software with emphasize on vehicle routing problem and network analysis. During my last month I structured my second paper entitled “Optimization of the routing system for the collection and transportation of waste in Kampala City”

I would like to acknowledge Dr. Christian Zurbrugg for the dedicated assistance, guidance and ideas he provided me with during the structuring and drafting of my research paper. I also wish to thank the staff of Sandec for the comments, and suggestions raised concerning my work.

Teddy Nakato
August - October 2012

During my stay at Eawag (Aug-Oct 2012) I was able to compare the calorific value of faecal sludge results from three different cities, Kumasi in Ghana, Dakar in Senegal and Kampala in Uganda. Based on this comparative research, I wrote a draft paper entitled “ "FUEL POTENTIAL OF FAECAL SLUDGE: CALORIFIC VALUE RESULTS FROM UGANDA, GHANA AND SENEGAL“ on the research carried out in the three cities (yet to be published). During my stay at Eawag, I was also able to present my field results at the Faecal Sludge Management Conference organised by Partners in Development and IWA in Durban on the 31st October, 2012.

Innocent K. Tumwebaze
June - August, 2010
Ph.D student, School of Public Health, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Uganda

During my stay at Eawag as an EPP fellow, I have been able to accomplish the following;

my NCCR PhD proposal entitled ‘Households’ demand and behavior towards improved sanitation in Urban slum communities: the case of Kampala, Uganda’;
Developing clear objectives and specification of the independent and dependent variables for my PhD research,
Developing psychological models through the guidance of my mentors on the measurement indicators for the dependent variables, and
Development of the baseline questionnaire, as well as logistical planning for the baseline field research which will begin in October 2010.

Additionally, I was able to complete and submit a journal manuscript entitled ‘Ecological sanitation coverage and associated factors in Kabale Municipality, Uganda’ to the International Journal of Environmental Health Research and gained substantive training in the use of spread sheets and applicability of Google Earth for my PhD studies. I had a great stay at Eawag and priceless thanks to my mentors especially Prof. Hans-Joachim Mosler, Silvie Kraemer and Christoph Lüthi. My stay would not have also been a success without the warm integration into the SANDEC family with whom I spent most of my time. I benefited greatly from the abundance of resourceful experts at Eawag and look forward for continued contribution to my PhD research.

Diem My Thi Nguyen
Feb - Apr 2024
Master's student at VNU University of Science, Hanoi

During my EPP internship at Eawag, I worked in the Solid Waste Management Group and conducted research on finding potential sites for solid waste landfills in Phu Yen Province, Vietnam, under the supervision of Dr Christian Zurbrügg and Dorian Tosi Robinson. Working on this project has helped me to gain more knowledge and understanding of activities related to solid waste management in low- and middle-income countries. It must be emphasised that the working environment, facilities and research materials provided by Eawag have greatly assisted me in completing my Master's thesis. By the way, the colleagues at Sandec are really great.

I am truly grateful for the unwavering support of the SANDEC team and my supervisors. Every aspect was meticulously taken care of, from travel arrangements to financial support and accommodation, facilitating a smooth and productive research process. I believe that enhancing interdisciplinary interactions between EPP fellows and the wider Eawag community would greatly enrich the research experience and promote collaborative learning.

Thank you Sandec team, solid waste management group, my supervisors, and my colleagues. The only and most wonderful opportunity of my life.

Thu Le Thi
May - July 2015
Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER)
Master student at Hanoi School of Public Health, Hanoi, Vietnam

I have gained valuable experience and knowledge during the 3-month stay at Sandec/Eawag. Especially, I obtained basic knowledge on how to write a scientific paper and was able to apply it to complete my research paper on the topic: "Assessment of diarrhea risk by exposure to biogas wastewater in Ha Nam province, Vietnam" (to be submitted). Moreover, the friendly, dynamic and supportive working environment at Sandec/Eawag motivated me a lot to better myself for a professional research career ahead.

Many thanks for the great support from my supervisor and Sandec team.

Nguyen Hong Nhung
October 2014 to January 2015
Center for public health and ecosystem research, Hanoi, Vietnam
MSc, Ghent University, Belgium

Under my EPP fellowship at Eawag, I did a research on “Assessment of climate change resilience of sanitation systems in Vietnam”. The main objective of my stay at Eawag was to assess the resilience of the current sanitation systems in Vietnam for climate change and propose the most suitable ones for future climate change response later in Vietnam by reviewing literature. I successfully completed an article to be published in the Sandec News 2015. During my research, I received a lot of helpful guidance from my supervisor and support from the Sandec team.

Thanks to the Sandec team, Dubendorf and Zurich feel like home to me. No words can describe my gratefulness.

Tung Bui Huy
August to November 2012
Hanoi Medical College, Hanoi, Vietnam
Master student at Hanoi School of Public Health, Hanoi, Vietnam

Under my EPP fellowship at Eawag, I was able to work on my MS thesis titled “Assessing health risk due to exposure to arsenic in drinking water in Hanam Province, Vietnam”.

During my study, I used @Risk software and Environmental Health Risk Assessment method to have newer and deeper analysis on cancer risk of people using tube well water which is arsenic contaminated for drinking purpose. A draft of manuscript with new results has been written. I also used Endnote software well to build the electronic library on arsenic contamination and health risk. More importantly, I learned from my supervisor, from SANDEC members the skills (searching, document citations, issue analysis, writing skill…) and the logical, professional and very effective working style. I hope that I could apply all these things in my work in general and PhD thesis in particular in the future.

I would like to thank Rick very much for his enthusiastic, thoughtful help not only at work but also in everyday life. The SANDEC staffs were very friendly and supported me a lot. I will never forget you!

Phuc Pham-Duc
May to August 2011
National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam
PhD student, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel University

During my fellowship at Eawag from May to August 2011, I am glad to have been able to write scientific articles for my PhD research on “Health risk assessment of wastewater and excreta reuse in agriculture in Vietnam using epidemiological and quantitative microbial risk assessment methods”. The following research articles have been or will be published in peer-reviewed journals:

Risk factors for Entamoeba histolytica infection in an agricultural community in Hanam, Vietnam (accepted, Parasites & Vectors Journal)
Ascaris and Trichuris are still a health concern in Northern Vietnam when wastewater and human excreta is used in agriculture. (to be submitted)
Epidemiology of diarrhoeal disease related with the use of wastewater and excreta in agriculture in Hanam, Vietnam. (to be submitted)
Assessment of microbial infection risks of diarrhea-related to the use of wastewater and excreta in agriculture in Vietnam. (to be submitted). This paper I will be presented by poster in the BioValley ScienceDay in Basel in September 2011.

My stay at Eawag was useful for sharing and discussing research results with other Sandec colleagues working on wastewater and excreta management and also helped to facilitate the link with Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel. At Eawag, I have been able to access many scientific papers, use the valuable facilities and to work with many friendly people. Now I am motivated and confident myself to serve my duties with more competence in the future. I would like to thank to everyone at Sandec/Eawag for all their help and support during the time I have been through.

Tu Vu Van
August – November 2009
Master student at Hanoi School of Public Health

I am a student of the Hanoi School of Public Health, and it is a great honour to benefit from the Eawag Partnership fellowship Program. During my fellowship at Eawag I was able to accomplish the following:

Completion of my MSc work which dealt with developing a questionnaire to assess human behavior towards reusing wastewater and excreta in agriculture based on the Protection Motivation Theory framework.
Eawag also funded an English class to help me improve my English. Now I feel confident about my English, but I know that learning English is a continuous process, and I will put all my effort into improving my English.
I learned a lot from my supervisors and my colleagues about carrying out research and academic study.

I am thankful for your support, which helped me having the motivation in my work now and in the future.

Hoai Pham Manh
February - May 2009
PhD student at Hanoi University of Science, Vietnam

The main objective of my three months fellowship at Eawag was the assessment of analytical data on persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals in water and sediment of Hanoi sewer system. I successfully completed two manuscripts - one has been submitted to the Journal of Environmental Pollution, and the second one is being revised by my supervisor. It can gladly say that I was one of the luckiest Vietnamese to have had the opportunity to visit Eawag under the EPP fellowship program. During my stay in Eawag, I had a good chance to learn about new research and obtain significant knowledge related to my work from experienced scientists. I was able to enhance my skills in methodology of data assessment and writing scientific papers. I had the best working conditions with the enthusiastic interest of my supervisor and laboratory staff. In my opinion, Eawag is one of the best equipped institutes that I have visited so far.

Ethel Mudenda
July to October 2019
PhD student at University of Zambia

During my EPP fellowship, I acquired knowledge in the management of field data, i.e. compilation, analysis and presentation particularly of farming practices in my study area. I also enhanced my capacity in laboratory workmanship through analysis of soil samples from my study sites using state of the art equipment and following revised standard operating procedures.

EPP finances were clearly stipulated and handled; accommodation was very convenient and fully furnished; I received a warm welcome at both campuses; supervision was excellent yet minimal which taught me how to concentrate, work and provide results under minimal supervision - a positive thing I will take with me.

Jason Wamulume
March - April, 2009
MSc student, University of Zambia, School of Mines, IWRM Centre, Zambia

My work in Switzerland consisted of the following:

Training in laboratory analysis of water samples
Modelling using ArcGis and other open source resources
ETH course and an independent study course on wetland biogeochemistry
Modelling using Aquasim
Attending group meetings and seminars
Thesis structuring

During my six weeks at EAWAG I received additional laboratory training and analyzed water samples for nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, ortho- phosphate, and alkalinity. These samples consisted of reservoir and river samples from the Kafue River basin in my study area in Zambia. I also learned how to use a mass spectrometer system to analyse water samples for dissolved inorganic carbon, oxygen and hydrogen isotopes. The results from this laboratory work will form part of my thesis for a chemical balance in the study area.

I also worked at ETH-Hönggerberg and learned how to use remote sensed data in ArcGis to determine subcatchments within my study area and estimate the amount of rainfall and evapotranspiration in those subcatchment. The data sources were USGS for a DEM, flow direction and accumulation models, and FEWs remote sensed rainfall data. The hydrologic estimates will be used in my thesis for developing a water balance.

In addition, I attended a course on pollutant dynamics and modeling at ETH-Zürich once a week. My supervisor and I also had an independent study course on wetland biogeochemistry and how the links between these concepts and my research in the Lower Kafue Basin. During my last week at EAWAG I also attended a mini-course on modeling using Aquasim, a software that I may use to model some of my data.

My training and stay here were very fruitful and helpful to my studies.

EPP Fellows

Afghanistan

2014 EPP fellow at Eawag, Hussain Etemadi

Argentina

Bangladesh

2020 EPP fellow at Sandec/ESS, Christoph Lüthi / Hans-Joachim Mosler

2011 EPP fellow at Sandec, Supervisors: Rick Johnston, Michael Berg and Manouchehr Amini

2010 EPP fellow at SIAM, Prof Hans Joachim Mosler

Brazil

Burkina Faso

2009 EPP fellow at Sandec, Christoph Lüthi

Cameroon

2013 EPP fellow with Sandec, Christoph Lüthi

China

2008 EPP fellow in Environmental Chemistry, Dr. Alfredo Alder

Congo

2008 EPP fellow in Surface Waters - Research and Management, Prof. Alfred Wüest

Costa Rica

2017 EPP fellow at Uchem

Ivory Coast

2022 EPP fellow at Sandec, Christoph Lüthi

2020 EPP fellow, Dr. Christoph Lüthi

Ethiopia

2024 EPP Fellow

2024 EPP fellow

2015 EPP fellow

2013 EPP fellow

2012 EPP fellow at Siam, Hong Yang

2010 EPP fellow in Water Resources and Drinking Water, Dr. Annette Johnson

Ghana

2017 EPP Fellow in Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Mosler

2008 EPP fellow in Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries, Dionys Forster

India

2024 EPP fellow at ESS

2021 EPP Fellow at Sandec

2019 EPP fellow at ECO, Prof. Christoph Vorburger

2018 EPP fellow in SANDEC, Dr. Linda Strande

2010 EPP fellow in SANDEC, Ms.Elizabeth Tilley and Dr.Kai Udert

Indonesia

2014 EPP fellow at Sandec

Iran

Ali Reza Esmaeili Ofogh

2019 EPP fellow at W+T, Prof. Mario Schirmer

Kenya

2020 EPP Fellow, ESS & Sandec Departments

2018 EPP fellow at Sandec

2017 EPP Fellow at ESS, Bernhard Truffer

2015 EPP fellow

Malawi

Frank Mnthambala-PhD student at Cranfield University, UK but from Malawi Supervised by Dr. Chris Zurbrugg at Sandec

Kondwani Chidziwisano, PhD student, University of Starthclyde / University of Malawi

Wema Meranda Mtika, Research assistant at the Malawi Polytechnic

Nepal

2024 EPP Fellow

2018 EPP fellow with Sandec, Regula Meierhofer

Pakistan

January-April 2022 - Nida Maqbool PhD Environmental Engineering; National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan

2012 EPP fellow at Eawag, Tehmina Mangan

Rwanda

2012 EPP fellow with SURF, Dr. Martin Schmid

Senegal

2014 EPP fellow at Sandec

2013 EPP fellow at Sandec, Dr. Linda Strande

2009 EPP fellow at Sandec, Doulaye Koné

2009 EPP fellow at Sandec on Excreta and Wastewater Management, Doulaye Koné

Syria

Tanzania

Thailand

Uganda

2024 EPP Fellow at Sandec, Dr. Christoph Luthi

2023 EPP fellow at Sandec, Dr. Christoph Lüthi

2023 EPP fellow at Sandec, Dr. Christoph Lüthi

2015 EPP fellow at Sandec, Dr. Christoph Lüthi

2013 EPP fellow at Sandec, C. Zurbrügg

2012 EPP fellow

2010 EPP fellow at SIAM, Prof Hans Mosler

Vietnam

2024 EPP fellow at Sandec, Supervisor: Christian Zurbrugg, Dorian Tosi Robinson

2015 EPP fellow at Sandec, Supervisor Christian Zurbruegg

2014 EPP fellow at Sandec

January-April 2022 - Nida Maqbool
PhD Environmental Engineering; National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan